Apparatus for cracking and handling glass sheets



H. c. SHOCK APPARATUS FOR cmcxme AND HANDLING emss sxmms Filed Ja 18, 193% 6 Sheets smet l Zinnentor H/WAY C. SHOCK (Zttorncg m H s c H APPARATUS FOR CRACKING AND HANDLING GLASS SHEETS Filed Jan. 18. mm 6 sheets'sheet 2 'Jnnentor H/MAY C. cjHocK.

Cittomeg H. C. SHOCK APPARATUS FOR CRACKING AND HANDLIAG GLA$$ SHEETS Filed Jan 1a, 1939 G Smetssheet 5 HIM ISnventor HAEEY 6T (j/106K.

(Ittorneg March 25, 1941., H c; SHOCK 2,236,011

APPARATUS FOR CRACKING AND HANDLING GLASS SHEETS Filed Jan. 18,. 1939. 6 h heet 4 Zinnentot Harry C. (SHOCK.

(Ittorneg 25, 1941. C; s oc 2,236,011

APPARATUS FOR CRACKING AND HANDLING GLASS SHEETS Filed Jan. 18,, 1939 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 (Ittorneg H. C. SHUQK APPARATUS FOR CRACKIEM AND HANDLINGGLASS $HEETS Wilmfl Jan. 185' 193% 6 Shomtw-Shwet 05 (Ittorneg Patented Mar. 25, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE APPARATUS FOR CRACKING AND HANDLING GLASS SHEETS Application January 18, 1939, Serial No. 251,581

Claims.

The present invention relates to apparatus for cracking and handling glass sheets which have been scored.

An important object of the invention is the provision of improved apparatus for effecting the cracking of the. glass sheets as they are being carried forwardly in a substantially continuous manner. 7

Another important object of the invention is the provision of improved apparatus which will crack the glass sheets into a plurality of strips or sections with certainty and accuracy and wherein loss through breakage will be reduced to a minimum.

Another important object of the invention is the provision of improved apparatus which will operate to separate the edges of the strips or sections of the sheet as soon as the cracking off occurs, whereby to avoid chipping of such edges.

A further important object of the invention is the provision of improved apparatus which will also operate to crack on relatively very narrow strips of glass, such as are ordinarily present at the front and rear ends of a scored sheet as the said sheet is carried forwardly.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent during the course of the following description, when taken in con.-

nection with the accompanying drawings.

7 a continuous sheet or ribbon of glass transversely as it issues from an annealing leer;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of apparatus for receiving the cut sheets from the apparatus of Fig. 1 and scoring them to form a plurality of strips or sections;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus for cracking the glass sheets along the score lines;

Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal section through the cracking off apparatus taken substantially on line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a portion of the cracking off apparatus showing one pair of conveyor rolls and the breaker roll;

Fig. 6 is a view of the tool used for adjusting the conveyor and breaker rolls vertically;

Fig. 7 is a transverse vertical section taken substantially on line 'll of Fig. 4 showing the breaker roll;

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view showing the friction brake used on certain of the conveyor rolls;

Fig. 9 is a transverse vertical section taken substantially on line 99 of Fig. 4 showing the apparatus for cracking off relatively very narrow strips of glass;

Fig. 10 is a vertical section taken substantially on line Ill-l0 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a vertical section taken substantially on line lI--H of Fig. 9;

Fig. 12 is an elevation, partially in section, of the overrunning clutch used on certain of the conveyor rolls; and

Fig. 13 is a section through the overrunning clutch taken substantially on line iii-43 of Fig. 12.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to Fig. l, the numeral I5 designates the outlet end of a horizontal annealing leer of any conventional or preferred construction and It a continuous sheet or ribbon of glass emerging therefrom. Positioned closely adjacent the outlet end of the leer, to receive the glass ribbon therefrom and carry it forwardly, is an endless cutting or capping table ll which travels in. the same direction and preferably at the same speed as the continuous ribbon l5.

As the continuous ribbon I6 emerges from leer it: upon capping table [1, it is adapted to be cut transversely into individual sheets of the desired length and for this purpose there may be provided the cross cutting mechanism designated in its entirety by the numeral It. This cutting mechanism may be of any conventional or approved construction. For instance, it may be of the general type disclosed in the patent to John L. Drake, No. 2,033,188, granted March 10, 1936, and is adapted for movement with the glass during the transverse scoring thereof, whereby to permit accurate cuts to the end that the ribbon of glass can be cut transversely either to size or substantially to size.

The cross cutting mechanism I8 herein disclosed embodies generally a pair of carriages l9 and 2f arranged at opposite sides of the endless table I"! and movable longitudinally thereof upon suitable tracks (not shown). Extending transversely across the table I1 and connecting the carriages i9 and is a cutter guide member 2| upon which is slidably mounted a cutter carriage 22 carrying the cutter 23. The cutter carriage and cutter are movable along the cutter guide by an operating rod 24. Upon drawing of the cutter 23 across and in contact with the continuous ribbon I6, it is adapted to eifect the scor ing thereof'as indicated at 25. The glass is then broken along the score line in a well known manner to provide individual sheets, one of which is indicated at 26. Any suitable means may be employed for causing the cutting mechanism |8 to move with the glass during the scoring of the latter and to return to starting position after the scoring has been completed.

After the glass sheet 26 leaves the capping table i1, it is delivered to an endless conveyor or reciprocating table 21 (Fig. 2) which carries it forwardly beneath the strip cutting mechanism 28 by means of which the sheet is cut into a plurality of strips of the desired width. The strip cutting mechanism 28 may consist of a supporting member 29 extending transversely above the conveyor or table 21 and supported at its opposite ends by standards 39 and 3|. Carried by the supporting member 29 are a plurality of cutter arms 32, each being provided with a cutting element 33. The cutter arms 32 may be pivotally or otherwise mounted upon the supporting member 29 so that they are operable to move the cutting elements 33 into and out of cutting position.

As the glass sheet 26 passes beneath the cutting mechanism 23, it is adapted to be scored along one or a plurality of lines as indicated at 34 to separate the sheet into a plurality of strips 35 of the desired width, such as 8", 2", etc; After the glass sheet has been passed beneath the cutting mechanism 28 it is adapted to be moved manually at substantially right angles in the direction indicated by the arrow onto a horizontal roll conveyor 36 composed of a series of rolls 31. This roll conveyor leads to the cracking off apparatus shown in Fig. 3 and designated in its entirety by the numeral 38. The glass sheet is then carried through the cracking 01f apparatus which applies the pressure necessary to crack the sheet along the score lines 34 into a plurality of strips which are then delivered onto an endless conveyor or the like 39 from which they may be removed and cut into lights of the desired sizes.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the cracking ofi apparatus 38 comprises generally a plurality of horizontally aligned pairs of conveyor rolls 40, 4|, 42, and 43, each comprising a lower roll 44 and an upper roll 45. Mounted between the pairs of conveyor rolls 4| and 42 is the breaker roll 46, while arranged between the pairs of conveyor rolls 42 and 43 is a conveyor roll 41 above which are mounted the two relatively small cracking off rollers 48 and 49.

The lower rolls 44 of the several pairs of conveyor rolls 48, 4|, 42, and 43 together with conveyor roll 41 are preferably arranged in horizontal alignment with one another, while the breaker roll 46 is disposed slightly above the level of said conveyor rolls to effect the cracking of the glass sheet 26 along the score lines 34 as the said sheet passes between said conveyor rolls and over said breaker roll. The small cracking-off rollers 48 and 49 cooperate with conveyor roll 41 to crack off the relatively very narrow strips of glass, such as are ordinarily present at the front and rear ends of the sheet and, in some instances, also intermediate the ends thereof. Interposed between the several pairs of conveyor rolls and breaker roll are the relatively small conveyor rolls 53 similar to and in horizontal alignment with the conveyor rolls 31 leading to the cracking off apparatus.

The several pairs of conveyor rolls 40, 4|, 42, and 43 are preferably mounted and operated in substantially the same manner. As best illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5, each pair of conveyor rolls is carried at its opposite ends by the supporting means designated generally at and 52 and mounted upon the longitudinally extending stationary supporting beams 53 and 54 respectively. The lower conveyor roll 44 is carried upon a shaft 55 journaled at each end in a rectangular bearing block 56. The bearing block 56 is mounted for vertical adjustment within a substantially U-shaped supporting frame 51 provided at the opposite sides thereof with vertical guideways 58 between which said bearing block is slidably arranged. The bearing block 56 is supported in properly adjusted position within the frame 51 by a vertical bolt 59 which passes downwardly through the bottom of the frame 51 and also through a longitudinally extending slot 60 in the respective supporting beam 53 or 54. The supporting bolt 59 is secured against movement longitudinally of the slot 60 by nuts 6| and 62. Upon proper adjustment of the nuts 6| and 62, the bolts 59 at opposite sides of the machine can be threaded upwardly or downwardly to move the bearing blocks 56 vertically and thus raise or lower the roll 44.

The upper roll 45 of each pair of conveyor rolls is carried by a shaft 63 journaled at its opposite ends in bearing blocks 64 also mounted for vertical sliding movement in the guideways 58 of supporting frames 51. The roll 45 is hung at each end from a vertical screw 65 secured at its lower end to the respective bearing block 64 and threaded at its upper end within an opening 66 in a vertical sleeve 61. This sleeve is carried upon the top 68 of the supporting frame 51.

As best shown in Figs. 3, 5 and '7, the breaker roll 46 is carried at its opposite ends by the supporting means designated generally by the numerals and 1| and comprising substantially U-shaped supporting frames 14 mounted upon the horizontal supporting beams 53 and 54. The breaker roll is carried by a shaft 12 journaled at its opposite ends in rectangular bearing blocks 13 mounted within the supporting frames 14. Each frame 14 is provided at its opposite sides with vertical guideways in which the respective bearing block 13 is slidable. The bearing block 13 at each end of the roll is hung from a vertical screw 16 threaded at its upper end within an opening 18 in a vertical sleeve 19 secured upon the top 11 of the supporting frame.

The sleeve 19 is reduced in diameter at its upper end as indicated at 89 and has loosely received thereon a collar 8|. The two collars 8| at opposite ends of the roll are connected together by a tie-rod 82 (Fig. '1), said rod being connected at one of its ends to one of the collars and having threaded within its opposite end a screw 83 carried by the other collar. Carried upon the screw 83 is a nut 84 to provide a turnbuckle arrangement for maintaining the supporting frames 14 at the opposite ends of the roll in proper vertical relation with respect to one another.

With the construction and arrangement above described, it will be evident that upon rotation of the sleeves 19, the screws 16 will be threaded upwardly or downwardly therein to move the bearing blocks 13 vertically to thereby raise or lower the breaker roll 46. In order to facilitate the manual turning of the sleeves 19, the upper end of each sleeve is formed with a transverse slot 85 and adapted to be associated therewith is a tool 86 illustrated in Fig. 6. This tool comprises a vertical cylindrical shank 81 carrying at its upper end a hand-wheel 88 and provided ad jacent its lower end with oppositely directed lugs 80. When it is desired to turn either sleeve 19 to raise or lower the corresponding end of breaker roll 43, the lower end of the shank 81 of tool 35 is inserted downwardly into the upper end of opening 18 in the sleeve until the lugs 89 of said tool are received within the transverse slot 85. Upon turning of the hand-wheel 8B, the sleeve is can be rotated to raise or lower the corresponding end of the breaker roll. Since the collars BI are loosely received upon the upper reduced ends 00 of sleeves 19, they in no way interfere with the rotation thereof. I

In order to avoid breakage or slipping of the glass, it is desirable that the opposite ends of the breaker roll 45 be simultaneously raised and lowered an equal distance so that the roll will always be maintained in a horizontal position. The invention therefore contemplates means for connecting the sleeves 19 at the opposite ends of the roll to cause them to rotate in unison upon turning of either sleeve by the operator. To this end, there is keyed to each sleeve 19 a sprocket 30 and trained about said sprockets is a sprocket chain GI. Upon turning of the sleeve 19 at either end of the roll, the sleeve at the opposite end of said roll will be simultaneously rotated an equal amount and in the same direction through the sprocket and chain connection. In order to prevent sagging of the sprocket chain 9|, there is provided a horizontal channel-shaped guide member 92 provided at its opposite ends with bracket portions 93 secured to the top of the supporting frames 14 by screws or the like 94.

The sleeves 61 carrying the upper conveyor rolls 45 are also reduced in diameter at their upper ends as at 95, and have loosely received thereupon collars 93; the collars at the opposite ends of each conveyor roll being connected together by a tie-rod 31 similar to tie-rod 82. Each of the sleeves 01 is also provided in its upper end with a transverse slot 93 similar to slots 85 in sleeves 13 for breaker roll 45. The sleeves 61 can therefore also be rotated by means of the tool 35 to raise and lower the upper conveyor rolls 45 in the same manner as breaker roll 45. Likewise, each of the sleeves 51 carries a sprocket 93 about which is trained a sprocket chain I00; so that the opposite ends of each conveyor roll 45 can be raised and lowered simultaneously an equal distance. The sprocket chain I00 is prevented from sagging by the provision of a substantially U-shaped guide member IOI provided at its opposite ends with bracket portions I02 secured to the tops 33 of supporting frames 51 by screws or the like I33. I

The supporting frames 14 provided at the opposite ends of breaker roll 45 are mounted for horizontal adjustment longitudinally of the supporting beams 53 and 54. As shown in Figs. 5 and '7, the bottom I04 of each supporting frame 14 is provided with an opening I05 within which is received the lower cylindrical portion of a nut I03. Passing upwardly through the slot 60 in the respective supporting beam 53 or 54 is a screw I31 threaded in the nut I03. Interposed between the head I08 of screw I01 and the bottom of the supporting beam is a metal strip I03. As illustrated at the left in Fig. 7, the strip I09 is provided at each side of the screw with a rib I Ii] which fits up into the slot 30 in the supporting beam. The bottom I04 of the supporting frame is also provided at each side of the opening IiI5'w-ith a groove III within which is received a key II2. This arrangement effectively prevents turning or twisting of the supporting frames 14 upon the beams 53 and 54. The same type of mounting is preferably employed for securing the supporting frames 51 of the conveyor rolls to the supporting beams 53 and 54, with the exception that the screws 59 thereof (corresponding to screws I01) continue upwardly through the nut GI and support the bearing blocks 53 as clearly shown in Fig. 5.

The breaker roll 46 and pair of conveyor rolls 4| in advance thereof are also mounted for horizontal adjustment with respect to one another. To this end, there are carried by the horizontal supporting beams 53 and 54 the longitudinally extending rack bars H5 and H5, said rack bars being secured beneath the supporting beams by bolts or the like I I1 and H8 and havin teeth I I9 and I20 respectively upon the bottom faces thereof.

The supporting frames 14 at the opposite ends of the breaker roll 43 have secured thereto the depending plate I2I and I22 respectively and extending longitudinally of said roll is a connecting rod I23 having its opposite ends rotatably supported in said plates. The rod I23 has keyed thereto spur gears I24 and I25 which mesh with the teeth II3-I20 of rack bars II5-i I6 respectively. The rod I23 projects at one end beyond the respective plate I2I or I22 and is formed with a rectangular portion I26 for the reception or a wrench or other tool to facilitate rotation of the said rod.

Upon turning of the rod I23, the gears I24 and I25 engaging rack bars H5 and H5 will cause the opposite ends of the breaker roll to be moved simultaneously either toward or away from the adjacent pairs of conveyor rolls 4I and 42. The pair of conveyor rolls 4| in advance of breaker roll 46 are adjustably mounted for horizontal movement in the same manner. The supporting frames 51 at opposite sides of the apparatus are provided with depending plates I21 and I23 (Fig. 3) and extending therebetween and carried thereby is a rod I29 provided adjacent each end with a spur gear I30 (Fig. 5) meshing with the teeth of the respective rack bar I I5 or I I5. One end of the rod I29 is also provided with a rectangular head I3I to facilitate the turning of the rod and the horizontal adjustment of the pair of conveyor rolls 4|.

The upper and lower rolls 44 and 45 of each pair of conveyor rolls 43, M, 42, and 43, as well as conveyor roll 41, may be positively driven by means of an endless sprocket chain I 32 (Figs. 3 and 4). This chain is trained at one end of its loop about a sprocket I33 and at the opposite end of its loop about sprocket I34 and I35. The sprockets I33, I34, and I35 are mounted upon horizontal stub shafts I35, I31, and I38 respectively suitably carried by the supporting beam 54. The upper flight I39 of sprocket chain I32 engages a sprocket I40 keyed to the shaft 53 of each of the upper conveyor rolls 45, while the lower flight I 4I of the sprocket chain engages a sprocket 42 fixed to the shaft 55 of each of the lower conveyor rolls 44 and conveyor roll 41 (Fig. 9). The sprocket chain I32 is disclosed as being driven from the endless conveyor 39 through the intermeshing gears I43 and I44, although any other other desired type of drive may be used. The gear I43 is keyed to the shaft I45 of the drum I45 about which the endless conveyor 33 is trained, while the gear I44 is keyed to the shaft I36 which also carries sprocket I33. In order to maintain the lower flight I4I of sprocket chain I32 in proper engagement with the sprockets I42 of conveyor rolls 44 and 41, there is provided a longitudinally extending inverted channel member I41 carried by brackets I48 secured to the supporting beam 54 by bolts or the like I49. If preferred, the upper conveyor rolls 45 need not be positively driven but can be permitted to freely rotate. This can be done by simply mounting the sprockets I40 loose on the shafts 53 of the upper conveyor rolls.

In operation, the pairs of conveyor rolls 42 and 43 and also conveyor roll 41, following breaker roll 46, are preferably driven at a relatively higher peripheral speed than the pairs of conveyor rolls 4|] and M, in advance of the breaker roll, so that the section or strip of glass, which is snapped 0r cracked off by the breaker roll, will be moved forward slightly as soon as the cracking off occurs. This separation of the edges of the sheet sections is advantageous as it prevents such edges from rubbing together and chipping on the further forward movement of the glass. This can be accomplished by making the drive sprockets for the conveyor rolls 42, 43, and 41 relatively smaller than the sprockets for the conveyor rolls 48 and M.

To avoid slippage between the glass sheets and the conveyor rolls 48 and M upon engagement of the sheet with the relatively faster moving pair of conveyor rolls 42 and before the sheet has been cracked, there are associated with the pairs of conveyor rolls 48 and 4i overrunning clutches as illustrated in Figs. 12 and 13. These overrunning clutches permit the conveyor rolls 49 and 4| to be rotated by the sheet at a relatively greater peripheral speed than that at which they are normally positively driven.

Each overrunning clutch includes a driven section I50 and a drive section I5I. The driven section I59 comprises a sleeve I52 mounted upon the shaft 55 and fixed thereto by a set screw or the like I53. Carried by the sleeve I52 is an outwardly extending flange I54 formed at its periphery with a rim I55 arranged circumferentially of the shaft 55. The rim I55 is provided upon its inner surface with a series of transverse grooves I56.

The drive section I5I of the overrunning clutch comprises a collar I51 loosely mounted upon the shaft 55 and carrying the sprocket I42. Integral with the collar I51 is a flange I58 carrying a relatively thick plate I59 which is received within the rim I55 of the driven section I58. Provided upon the periphery of the plate I59 are a plurality of recesses I68 within which are arranged metal balls I6I.

In operation, the conveyor rolls 44 provided with the overrunning clutches are adapted to be normally positively driven upon rotation of the sprockets I42. More specifically, when the sprocket I42 is driven to rotate the plate I59 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 13, the balls I6I will move outwardly of the recesses I98 and into the grooves I56 in rim I55 to rotate the driven section I59 and shaft 55. However, when the roll is driven faster than the drive of the sprocket I42, the driven section I58 will rotate faster than plate I59, whereupon the balls IIiI will move inwardly into the lower enlarged ends of the recesses I59 so that the roll will be permitted to turn freely, independently of the positive drive and at a relatively faster peripheral speed.

It is also preferred that the lower conveyor roll 44, in advance of breaker roll 46, be provided with a friction brake to retard the sheet after the break occurs at the breaker roll to prevent the edges of the sheet sections from rubbing together. One type of friction brake which may be used is shown in Fig. 8 and designated in its entirety by the numeral I 82. The shaft 55 of the roll has keyed thereto a brake drum I63 and encircling said drum are two semi-circular brake shoes I64 and I65 hinged together at one end as at I68. Also encircling the brake drum I63 within brake shoes I64 and I65 is the brake lining I61. The outer ends of the brake shoes I64 and I are provided with spaced ears I58 and I59 respectively and passing therethrough is an adjusting bolt I10 having threaded upon one end a nut HI and provided at its opposite end with a finger portion I12. Encircling the bolt between finger portion I 12 and ear I 68 is a compression spring I13 which normally urges the brake shoes I64 and I65 toward one another and into engagement with the brake drum I63. Upon rotation of the bolt I18, the pressure exerted by the brake shoes upon the drum may be varied as desired. Passing through the outer end I14 of ear I88 is a pin I15 fixed to a bracket I16 secured to the supporting frame 51. By means of the friction brake I62, the shaft 55 and, consequently, the conveyor roll will be given a more steady movement with less vibration which will result in a more constant uniform advance of the class sheets to and over the breaker roll 46.

As brought out above, the two relatively small cracking off rollers 48 and 49 cooperate with the conveyor roll 41 to crack off relatively very narrow strips of glass, such as are present at the opposite ends of the glass sheet and which are not snapped off by the breaker roll 46. The cracking off of such a relatively narrow strip I11 is shown in Fig. 10 and the apparatus for accomplishing this purpose is best illustrated in Figs. 3, 9, 10, and 11.

The cracking off rollers 48 and 49 are mounted upon shafts I18 and I19 respectively. The shaft I19 is supported at its opposite ends and also intermediate its ends in substantially horizontal arms I88 pivotally mounted upon a transverse rod I8'I while the shaft I19 of roller 49 is mounted at its opposite ends and also intermediate its ends in substantially horizontal arms I82 pivoted upon transverse rod I83. supported at its opposite ends and also intermediate its ends in blocks I84 secured to the horizontal feet I85 of verticall disposed brackets I86 by screws or the like I81. As shown in Fig. 9, three brackets I86 are provided. The rod I83 is supported at its opposite ends and also intermediate its ends in blocks I88 secured by screws or the like I89 to the feet I98 of vertical brackets I9I similar to and disposed opposite brackets I86. The brackets I 86 and I9I are provided at their upper ends with substantially horizontal flanges I92 and I93 through which are threaded screws I94 and I95 engaging the upper horizontal portions of the angle beams I95 and I91. The angle beams I98 and I91 are secured at their opposite ends to vertical standards I98 and I99 mounted upon the horizontal supporting members 53 and 54. The standards I98 and I 99 are secured to said supporting members by screws 208 which pass upwardly through the slots 68 in said supporting members and are threaded within the bottoms of said standards.

Arranged between the angle beams I96 and I91 is a substantially U-shaped brace 20I including the horizontal portion 202 and the ver- The transverse rod I8I is Lil tical portions 203 and 204 which are arranged inwardly of the vertical flanges of the angle beams and secured thereto by rivets or the like 205. The brackets I86 and I8! are secured to the respective angle member andvertical bracing strip by screws or the like 206 which pass through slots 2B! in said brackets so that the brackets can be raised and lowered as desired. The blocks I84 and I88 are also adjustably carried by the feet I85 and I90 of brackets I86 and Hil so that they can be moved horizontally to bring the cracking off rollers closer together or further apart.

Carried at one end of the rods IBI and I83 are the substantially vertical arms 2G8 and 209 secured to said rods by set screws or the like 2"], associated at their upper ends with a bracket member 2II secured to the angle beams I96 and I91 by bolts or the like 2I2. The bracket 2 is provided at its opposite ends with vertical bearings 2I3 and 2I4 and intermediate its ends with vertical bearings 2 I and 2 I 6. Threaded through each of the bearings 2I3 and 2I4 is a bushing 2II secured in place by nuts 2I8 and 2 I9, while threaded through each of the bearings 2I5 and ZIB is a bushing 220 secured in place by a nut 22L Passing loosely through the bushings 2|! and 220 carried by bearings 2I3 and 2I5 are the horizontal rods 222 and 223 secured at their inner adjacent ends to a slotted block 224 through which the upper end 225 of the arm 208 projects. Encircling rod 222 is a compression spring 226 which normally urges the slotted block 224 inwardly and the cracking off roller 48 downwardly. The inward movement of the rod is controlled by a thumb nut 22! threaded upon the outer end of rod 222 and adapted to engage the outer end of bushing 2I'I.

Passing loosely through the bushings 2I'I and 22!! carried by bearings 2I4 and 2I6 are the rods 228 and 229 secured at their inner ends to a slotted block 230 through which the upper end 23I of arm 209 projects. Encircling rod 228 is a compression spring 232 acting to normall urge the slotted block 230 inwardly and the cracking on roller 49 downwardly. The inward movement of the slotted block 230 is controlled by a thumb nut 233 threaded upon the outer end of rod 228.

The springs 226 and 232 serve to yieldably urge the cracking off rollers 48 and 49 downwardly to engage the upper surface of the glass sheet and apply sufficient pressure thereto to effect the snapping ofi' of relatively very narrow strips of glass which are not cracked off by the breaker roll 46.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as the preferred embodiment of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the sub-joined claims.

I claim:

1. In combination in an apparatus for cracking glass sheets which have been scored, a plurality of pairs of horizontally spaced conveyor rolls, each comprising a lower roll and an upper roll. between which the glass sheets are delivered, a breaker roll arranged between adjacent pairs of conveyor rolls and over which the glass sheets pass, said breaker roll cooperating with said conveyor rolls to crack the glass sheets along the score lines, means for driving the lower conveyor rolls. with the conveyor roll in advance of said breaker roll being driven at a relatively slower peripheral speed than the conveyor roll following said breaker roll, and means associated with the lower conveyor roll in advance of the said breaker roll operable so that the said conveyor roll can be rotated at a relatively faster speed than that at which it is positively driven.

2. In combination in an apparatus for cracking glass sheets which have been scored, a plurality of pairs of horizontally spaced conveyor rolls, each comprising a lower roll and an upper roll between which the glass sheets are delivered, a breaker roll arranged between adjacent pairs of conveyor rolls and over which the glass sheets pass, said breaker roll cooperating with said conveyor rolls to crack the glass sheets along the score lines, means for driving the lower conveyor rolls, with the conveyor roll in advance of said breaker roll being driven at a relatively slower peripheral speed than the conveyor roll following said breaker roll, and an overrunning clutch associated with'the lower conveyor roll in advance of the said breaker roll operable so that the said conveyor roll can be rotated by movement of the glass sheets at a speed equal to the speed of rotation of the lower conveyor roll following said breaker roll.

3. In combination in an apparatus for crack ing glass sheets which have been scored, a plurality of pairs of horizontally spaced conveyor rolls, each comprising a lower roll and an upper roll between which the glass sheets are delivered, a breaker roll arranged between adjacent pairs of conveyor rolls and over which the glass sheets pass, said breaker roll cooperating with said conveyor rolls to crack the glass sheets along the score lines, means for driving the lower conveyor rolls, with the conveyor roll in advance of said breaker roll being driven at a relatively slower peripheral speed than the conveyor roll following said breaker roll, means associated with the lower conveyor roll in advance of said breaker roll operable so that the said conveyor roll can be rotated at a relatively faster speed than that at which it is positively driven, and friction means for retarding the rotation of the lower conveyor roll in advance of said breaker roll.

4. In combination in an apparatus for cracking glass sheets which have been scored, a plurality of pairs of horizontally spaced conveyor rolls, each comprising a lower roll and an upper roll between which the glass sheets are delivered, a breaker roll arranged between adjacent pairs of conveyor rolls and over which the glass sheets pass, said breaker roll cooperating with said conveyor rolls to crack the glass sheets along the score lines, means for driving the lower conveyor rolls, with the conveyor roll in advance of said breaker roll being driven at a relatively slower peripheral speed than the conveyor roll following said breaker roll, an overrunning clutch associated with the lower conveyor roll in advance of the said breaker roll operable so that the said conveyor roll can be rotated by movement of the glass sheets at a speed equal to the speed of rotation of the lower conveyor roll following said breaker roll, and a friction brake also associated with the lower conveyor roll in advance of said breaker roll acting to retard the rotation of the said conveyor roll.

HARRY C. SHOCK. 

